It was well worth the wait to see ageless veteran Mike Hussey produce a gem of an innings to kick-start Big Bash League 05 last night at Spotless Stadium.
No more boringly slow over rates at the once long-awaited Test cricket, and no more lack of competitiveness or seeming lack of interest of the West Indies.
And 18,287 fans voted with their feet last night, nearing the capacity 22,000 of Spotless, the home of the Sydney Thunder for the next decade.
If last night was the criteria capacity will be the norm, especially if the Thunder’s quality roster fires like its skipper.
Hussey’s wagon wheel during his unbeaten 80 covered the four points of the compass with 22 singles, seven twos, five boundaries, and four sixes, the last off the final delivery.
It was a superb innings off 59 deliveries for a 40-year-old who played his last Test against Sri Lanka at the SCG in January 2013, his last ODI against Pakistan at Sharjar in September 2012, and is final T20 against the Windies at Colombo in October 2012.
Yet despite his senior years and very little “in the middle” cricket, Hussey can still produce an innings of pure international quality.
The Thunder had never beaten cross-town rivals Sydney Sixes in their seven previous meetings, and never finished out of the bottom two in the last four Big Bash tournaments.
But if Hussey’s support roster can keep up with their skipper, the Thunder is a genuine contender.
And it’s a top shelf roster – Jacques Kallis (40), Shane Watson (34), and three big-hitters Jamaican Andre Russell (27), Aiden Blizzard (31), and Ben Rohrer (34).
But last night they could only muster 77 between them, and they are worth a whole lot more than that. Keeper Chris Hartley wasn’t required last night in the 4-158 scoreline, but he too is a “get on with it” batsman.
To complete the Thunder picture, the attack has plenty of variety and talent with pacemen Kallis, Watson, Gurinder Sandhu, and Clint McKay, with leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed and the very promising 22-year-old offie Chris Green.
So Big Bash 05 is up and running.
Tonight the Adelaide Strikers are at home to the Melbourne Stars. Adelaide have evergreen Brad Hodge, and Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene the Stars with skipper David Hussey, Kevin Pietersen and Glenn Maxwell.
Tomorrow night it’s the Brisbane Heat at home to the Melbourne Renegades.
Another evergreen, James Hopes, will skipper the Heat with Brendon McCullum and Joe Burns the big hitters, while the Renegades will be led by Aaron Finch, with Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo their hitters.
Standby for plenty of fireworks.
While a premature retirement isn’t the solution, he or England want, he may be forced into it if he can’t maintain a long run of matches.
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